CoveredCA chief: Up to 900,000 will lose health plans on 12/31

Peter Lee, executive director Covered California, speaks during an event to celebrate the opening of Covered California on October 1st in San Francisco. (The Chronicle / Lea Suzuki)

Covered California executive director Peter Lee told the Chronicle editorial board that he expects 800,000 to 900,000 people to lose their non-grandfathered private insurance policies on Dec. 31, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. (This figure — which is higher than past numbers reported – does not include small business coverage.) “The individual market is changing dramatically,” Lee said.

What about President Obama’s promise that if people liked their plan, they could keep it? “I think it was not well stated,” Lee answered. Obama’s rhetoric “may have been an inarticulate way of describing what the realities are.”

How many will pay higher premiums under Covered California plans? How many will pay less? Lee said he does not know, but “some individuals will pay more.” (I’ve written here and here about policy holders who are facing big premium hikes and higher deductibles and co-payments.) As for those who will pay more, he hopes that they’ll see the advantages to the Obamacare plans’ added protections: no lifetime cap, for example preventive care without copayments –and consumers “can shop as they never did before.” (Don’t like your plan? You can drop during next open enrollment?) And: “they can never be denied coverage.”

“Covered California won’t release numbers on how many people have signed up for the exchanges until Nov. 14.

I should note that Lee argues that these individuals don’t quite lose their plans, but that the plans they bought have annual end dates, and people can enroll in new Covered California plans.